Kostunica: Serbia asked to pay with territory

According to the former Serbian prime minister, that price will mean giving up Kosovo.

"Now no politician in Serbia can turn their head away and pretend not to understand that a demand has been put before Serbia to pay for EU accession with her territory," Kostunica noted.

The DSS leader also said that those who believe that EU membership should be pursued even at such a price, "must tell the citizens about it openly and honestly".

"It would be extremely irresponsible to continue with the useless 'both Kosovo and EU' story, because the conditions set by Germany will not be changed by anyone, and these conditions have been in place since 2008, when a majority of EU states recognized the illegally declared unilateral independence of Kosovo."

Kostunica stated that his party believed Serbia should now "in a calm and sober manner declare that it will not pay for EU membership with its territory".

"It is time for Serbia to turn to herself and her own development, because the country's development and cooperation with other states on an equal footing is the goal that has highest priority, rather than EU membership," Kostunica concluded.